January 11

 ‘They laid hold upon one Simon…and on him they laid the cross.’ – Luke 23:26

                Whatever God’s purpose, we must understand that our obedience to Him has consequences for those around us. Simon, for example, was made to carry the Cross of Christ due to Christ’s obedience to His Father’s will. Our choice to be obedient to God will cause consequences for others and there is nothing we SHOULD do about it.

                That doesn’t mean that there is nothing we CAN do, but that there is nothing we SHOULD do. It is not our place to intervene in the struggles of others. Their trials are intended for God’s indiscernible purpose in the plan for their lives..We are to be compassionate without enabling. Rather than intervention, we are called to intercede in prayer.

                Let me be clear that I DO think that we are to help others. If you happen across someone with a flat tire or some other topical problem, it is good Christian charity to lend a hand. However, if someone is truly struggling, we are more likely to hinder than to help. God will help us through our struggles if we learn to rely on Him. Through intervention, we are taking the opportunity to learn reliance on Christ away from the individual and instead teaching them to rely on us.

This is the consequence of being a Christian. Those who struggle and do not yet rely on God will not understand why we cannot help them. Simon did not understand why he was called to carry Christ’s Cross and I am not sure that we ever learn for what purpose God involved him. But that is not for us to worry about. We are to learn to trust God in our own daily walk and trust that He will guide others to do the same.